


Earth Isn't So Far

by safety_dancer



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Ensemble - Freeform, Gen, HBD LANCE MY BOY, i barely made it, the team loves and appreciates lance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-29
Updated: 2017-07-29
Packaged: 2018-12-08 08:45:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11643015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/safety_dancer/pseuds/safety_dancer
Summary: “Geez, Hunk! You scared us! I come running, thinking maybe Zarkon had teleported his ugly self into the- is that a cake?”





	Earth Isn't So Far

**Author's Note:**

> GOD BLESS ABBY FOR BEING AN AMAZING BETA GOTDAMN

The castleship is _quiet_ for once; nothing was coming after them, no alarms were sounding, no distress signals calling for Voltron’s aid. Lance was glad for the time--however brief it might be--of respite.

“Hey, Coran?”

“Yes, Lance?”

“How fast does time pass in space?” Lance stares out the main deck’s large windows. He's struck once again by how _endless_ space is. His chest feels hollow. He remembers Coran showing him just how far they were from earth, but that was about ten wormhole jumps ago. They were… a lot farther than Lance ever imagined anyone could go.

Coran steps up beside him, twirling the edge of his mustache thoughtfully. “Hm, well, time passes differently on every planet, according to how-”

“Yeah, I know, I mean-” Lance waves his hand through the air in an exasperated gesture. “We've been out here for… for _months_ now. What's that in Earth time? I've seen _Interstellar_ , Coran. He was gone for like, a _day_ , and on Earth? _Decades_ had come and gone.” Lance swallows hard, unbidden tears welling up and threatening to spill. “What if we get home and it's- it's-”

“Time is a strange thing, Lance,” Coran assures him quickly. He grasps Lance’s shoulders, turning him so that their eyes meet. “It's unpredictable. Why, it could be that while we've been out here for months, it's only been a few _days_ to those on Earth!” He grins brightly, patting Lance's shoulder gently. “Cheer up, Lance,” he says.

Lance sniffles and nods. “Yeah. Yeah, okay. You're probably right.” He takes a breath, straightening his shoulders and offering a small smile. “Thanks, Coran.”

Coran slaps him on the back, a little harder than strictly necessary. “Of course I'm right!” He says, prompting a laugh from Lance.

“Coran, Lance,” Hunk’s voice sounds over the intercom system, startling them both. “You're both needed in the dining hall, right away!”

They exchange glances before breaking into a run and bursting through the dining hall doors simultaneously, Lance with his bayard drawn and Coran taking an immediate defensive stance.

“What's the emergency?!” Coran asks, a crazed look in his eyes.

The rest of the team stands gathered at the end of the table with perplexed expressions.

“There's no emergency,” Allura says.

“Then why the quiznack did Hunk call us here so quickly?” Lance let his bayard dematerialize. “ _Geez_ , Hunk! You scared us! I come _running_ , thinking maybe Zarkon had teleported his ugly self into the- is that a cake?”

During Lance's tirade, Hunk had sheepishly brought forward the cake he had been holding behind his back. It was triple-tiered, with blue and white frosting swirled together in a way that reminded Lance of foaming ocean waves.

“Happy birthday, Lance!” Hunk says, holding the cake out proudly. “Uh, hopefully it tastes okay. Sugar isn't a thing here, but I found this like, pink goop that kinda tasted like honey? And I had to- whoa hey!”

Lance rushes forward, takes the cake and sets in on the table before _throwing_ himself at Hunk, wrapping his arms around his friend's neck and burying his face in his shoulder. “I love you, man. You're the best friend in the entire quiznacking _universe_.” He pulls himself away and swipes quickly at his eyes.

“Don't let Keith see you cry, dude.”

Lance glances to his right where Keith stands, a little awkwardly, but he's smiling slightly. Lance huffs. “It's- I got something in my eye, is all,” he mumbles.

“Yeah, _feelings,_ ” Keith says with a snort.

Lance sticks his tongue out at him, and Keith rolls his eyes.

“Happy birthday, Lance,” Allura says, stepping up and interrupting their bantering. She drops a light kiss to his cheek and then quickly backs away, clearing her throat. Lance stares at her in awe, a hand coming up to touch the spot she had kissed.

“Thank you, Princess,” he says, a little dazed. “But you missed my lips.”

Allura scoffs, hands on her hips, but there's an amused sparkle in her eyes. “You _wish_.”

“My turn!” Pidge says with a lopsided grin. She hops up to sit on the edge of the table, and holds out a small wrapped box. “Happy birthday, Lance!”

Lance sucks in a breath and takes the gift almost reverently, touched beyond belief. He peels off the wrapping paper carefully, and pops open the top of the box, revealing a pair of cordless blue headphones.

“I've preprogrammed them with all your music, and a few other things,” Pidge says proudly, adjusting her glasses. “Put ‘em on and I'll show ya!”

Lance eagerly slips them over his head, giving Pidge a thumbs up when he's ready. She reaches over and presses a button on the right earpiece, and the sound of waves fills Lance's head. He blinks, staring at the edge of the table as he listens to water crashing, seagulls squawking, and wind blowing gently. He brings a hand up to his mouth to stifle a sob. “It sounds exactly like the beach,” he croaks.

“There's more,” Pidge tells him as she presses a second button.

Lance gasps as the soothing sound of pouring rain plays in his ears. Thunder crashes, and Lance can see the streaks of lightning in his mind's eye. He listens to it for a long moment, the hollow feeling in his chest easing into something heavy and warm. He takes off the headphones, ever-so-gently laying them back in the box before pulling Pidge into a tight hug, picking her up and spinning her around.

“Lance!” Pidge shrieks, “Put me down!”  

“I love you so much, Pidge!” Lance laughs, twirling them around one more time before setting her back on the table. He smiles at her brightly, his eyes dancing with happiness as he cups her face and places a tiny kiss on the top of her head.

Pidge flushes and shoves her palm against his face, pushing him away. “Alright, alright. None of that. Gross.”

Lance grins and ruffles her hair. “ _Thank you_ , Pidge,” he says sincerely.

Pidge smiles back and gently bumps his leg with her foot. “You're welcome, Lance.”

“There's one more thing,” Shiro pipes up. He walks over and throws an arm around Lance's shoulders, tugging him close in a brief side hug before dragging him towards main deck, the rest of the team trailing behind. Once they reach the deck, Shiro steps back, and Lance doesn't miss his glance at Keith, who suddenly looks very awkward.

“Uh, here,” Keith pulls what looks like a remote from his pocket and shoves it into Lance's hand. “Coran and Hunk helped me with this.”

“But it was all Keith's idea,” Coran cut in, smiling proudly at Keith, who averts his eyes. “Hit the green switch, Lance!”

Lance arches a brow and does as he's told. In response, the castle’s lights shut off, enveloping the room in total darkness. A tic later, the windows begin to glow, images appearing in the glass like mirages in the heat of the desert. One window displays a vast field filled with flowers of every color, their stems bending and swaying in the breeze. Lance gapes; it looks _so real_ , he feels like he’s _there_ , standing in that very field. Another window pictures a sunset out at sea, golden light reflecting on the water like a faceted gemstone. Yet another window shows the image of a woodland area, moss covered trees and a lazily flowing brook. Lance turns a slow circle, taking it all in.

“They're holograms,” Keith tells him, fidgeting with the knife strapped to his side. “Can't compare ‘em to the real thing, but I figured that even having the pictures of Earth would-”

Lance is _crying_. Full blown tears, his shoulders shaking. “It's _home_ ,” he says. “It's _beautiful_.” He looks up at Keith with a wobbly smile, tear stained cheeks, and red-rimmed eyes. “Thank you, Keith.” He says softly. “I take back everything mean I've ever said about you and your mullet.”

That startles a laugh out of Keith. “Shut your quiznack,” he retorts without bite. “And happy birthday.”

Lance chuckles, and looks back at the holograms.

Earth doesn’t feel so far away anymore.

**Author's Note:**

> hbd lance!!!


End file.
